A Living Room Remodel on a Small Budget

by Darlene Mase

Don’t think a living room makeover is in your budget? Use these affordable renovation hacks to give your living room a new look for less.

Maybe you’ve been watching too much HGTV and have decided it’s time for a living room remodel. Or perhaps the hour has come to tear down that under-the-sea wallpaper and rethink those plastic-covered couch cushions.

Either way, redecorating your living room – regardless of how big or small – doesn’t have to be expensive.

With these living room renovation hacks, you’ll stretch your dollar so much that you’ll have George Washington feeling like a yogi.

Get Rid of All the Junk

Clutter is not fashionable and should play no part in your living room remodel.

So before you start swiping your card at Hobby Lobby, At Home, or some other store where it’s way too easy to spend too much money, organize first. Get rid of things that serve no purpose.

And perhaps you might consider investing in a functional yet fashionable storage piece if you have kids who believe your hobbies include picking up chunks of playdough and Thomas the Train twenty-eight times per day.

Shop in Your Own Home

Instead of taking a trip to the store, “shop” in your own home.

Walk around the different rooms and see which items you can borrow to fuel your living room remodel.

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Reupholster Your Furniture

After a while, furniture loses its luster. The upholstery gets dirty, stinky, and torn. While the cost of reupholstering can sometimes be just as much as the price of a new sofa set, there are some instances in which reupholstering is your best bet.

For example, if your current couch is of excellent quality, and “they just don’t make ’em how they used to,” reupholstering might be a good idea. Reupholstering might also come in handy if, for instance, only one sofa cushion is damaged, but the rest are still in good shape.

Adjust the Lighting in Your Living Room

Light is not purely functional, my friends. Depending on your light levels and the placement of your light fixtures, you can make the room appear smaller or larger.

Recessed light fixtures, for instance, make the ceiling appear higher, making the room look larger. Similarly, if your living room is compact but has high ceilings, you can use this vertical space to make the room appear larger. Pendant lights draw the eye up, distracting from the smallness of the area by emphasizing the high ceilings.

Rearrange the Furniture in Your Living Space

Sometimes, a living room remodel simply entails rearranging your furniture. By moving pieces around – or even relocating your living room to an entirely different space – you can create a transformation that’s as simple as it is cost-effective.

Change the Color of Your Walls

You can change the entire atmosphere — and your opinion of your living room — by changing the paint colors.

By default, lighter colors make a room appear larger, while darker tones have the opposite effect.

If you are renting an apartment or leasing a home, you won’t be able to paint the walls at will, but you can definitely add some wall decals or colorful contact paper to spruce things up a bit.

Release Your Resident Renoir

It’s crazy how we’re so quick to spend hundreds of dollars on a canvas with dots, scribbles, and lines just because it’s marketed as art,” yet we are hesitant to create a masterpiece of our own.

Abstract art is all the rage, and you don’t have to consider yourself artistic, creative, or even talented to bang out a piece of which you can be proud.

Exercise? I Thought You Said Accessorize

Accessories are the quickest, easiest, and most affordable way to liven up your living room décor.

Keep a stash of throw pillows on hand, and swap them out seasonally. Potted plants add a pop of color (and oxygen) to your living space. Area rugs, though not as affordable as some other accessories, can keep your home trendy and your toes warm.

Repurpose and Revamp

Things are not always what they seem.

That dingy old bookshelf can be transformed into floating shelves with some paint, a table saw, and a hefty portion of imagination. Those over-imposing chairs from that antiquated dining set? Hello, end tables!

Exercise your creativity and use some of those things you have lying around. If you can’t come up with any ideas of your own, we are confident the proud people of Pinterest would love to lend a helping hand.

Happy Living Room Remodeling!

Living room makeovers on a budget are possible and can even be a fun undertaking for you and your friends. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Just because you currently can’t afford a complete overhaul doesn’t mean that small steps can’t make drastic differences.

Happy redecorating, friends.

Reviewed November 2023

About the Author

Darlene Mase lives in Newnan, Georgia with her husband and daughter. She is a stay-at-home mom and works as a freelance writer for Zumper.com and other popular sites. During her free time, Darlene enjoys traveling, hiking, camping, cycling, gardening, caving, kayaking, or anything else outdoors.

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